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Monday, October 31, 2011

There are countless reasons why I fell for Mr. Sugarplum, but the big hook was how much he made me laugh. You've seen some evidence of it, but the man is a seriously good sport. Not only did he go along with my costume idea for a party Saturday night...

But he took it and ran!

This tree thing was completely his idea, and I may have wet my pants a little when he jumped up there.

I mean, how could anyone even tell the difference between us and the real Edward and Bella?!?

Babygirl is a hoot, too, and we tried to convince her to be our little Baby Twilight,

but she had her heart set on Rapunzel. I'm not sure what my son's costume is...anything that allows him to look scary, I guess.

We had a great time with our friends, and I jumped at the chance to make Mini-Mummy Dogs and chocolate cupcakes.

Happy Halloween!! I hope all your vampire dreams come true tonight!

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Thursday, October 27, 2011

I will paint anything that stands still. And I've used a glue gun on more things than I care to admit. But when it comes to the hard-core projects, I don't DIY. And I certainly don't let Mr. Sugarplum do it, either! I don't mess around with load-bearing walls and jack-hammering tile. Especially when I have a rockstar contractor who works faster than I can blog it!

This is not a pretty post, but it's behind-the-scenes and progress. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, you can catch-up on this un-planned project here.)

Gah! I can't even imagine trying to rip all that out!! And thank goodness I have the pros on it, since most of the wood was wet and rotting, they had to replace the entire side of the bathroom. Not to mention the plumbing they have to do on the faulty drain and shower head. Dang, am I ever going to miss those big plastic knobs on brass plates! (You read that as sarcasm, right?)

The good news just keeps piling up on this project though. Turns out the corner of the bathroom is completely unused space. Huh, good choice Mr. Builder.

So that wall came out, too, and I'm getting floor-to-ceiling linen cabinets! Yay for more room to store crap!

And you see this greatness?

Hole? What hole?! TWSS They popped this piece of something up (sorry for my lack of vocabulary, but I have no idea what I'm talking about with this kind of stuff!), and are going to work some magic to make it blend with the rest of the wall!

I'm pretty psyched about what's happening on the other side, too. Not to mention grateful that I didn't attempt it myself.

And after hearing so many horror stories of renovations gone bad, I can't sing the praises of my contractor enough! What types of projects do you leave to the pros?

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Thanks for the input on the shower tile yesterday! Instead of driving myself crazy with options, I just went with it. Things are moving fast, I'll show you the progress tomorrow.

Today I have an easy, quickie Halloween treat for you! Since my kids are young, they are still excited by school and love to do things for their teachers. When Mrs. Limestone announced she was in the latest Woman's Day Halloween Special, I raced out to get it. Her spread is amazing, of course, as are many of the featured projects.

First, we printed out the bat template, then traced it on thin, black poster board.

After writing their notes on the back, the kids glued on the googly eyes. We used double-stick tape to keep the chocolate bar in place, and another piece to hold the wings closed.

The ghosts were even easier. We simply printed out the ghost template on white cardstock (it prints with the eyes and 'Boo!')

More googly eyes and chocolate!

So cute, we can't seem to stop eating making them!

I think my run on googly eyes has come to an end. Are you making fun little treats for teachers or as party favors? Are you shoving chocolate back as quickly as I am? Geez, why oh why did I open the Halloween candy?!?

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Well, as hard as the airline made it for us, we finally arrived home last night. I felt awful for the kids this morning, who were obviously suffering from the late night and time change. As much as we all wanted to climb back into bed, work and school awaited...as does my contractor, who wants my decisions on bathroom tile pronto!

Since we're not doing a major overhaul, just trying to repair the damage, while upgrading the materials, I'm going to keep it simple. I've decided on a white subway tile for the walls, and am thinking of a river rock/pebble tile for the shower floor.

Since the bathroom is right off the pool, I like the outdoor vibe of the river rocks. Do you have any experience with this tile? Is it comfortable on your feet? Does it hold up well over time? Tell me what you think! I'll try to get my act together (after crawling out from under my laundry pile), and keep you updated on this fast-moving project!

Monday, October 24, 2011

Hello, hello! How was your weekend? We took a little quickie family trip to San Francisco! (Thanks to airline wars for the cheapo fares!) And while we're heading back today, there is already a flurry of activity waiting for us at home.

Behold, THE UGLY:

Ugh. This is our third bathroom (I don't think I've ever shown it on the blog), that is in the back of the house by the garage door. It's small, but perfect because it also opens to the backyard pool. Mr. Sugarplum recently noticed some wrinkling in the wall, so like men without forethought do, he started poking and pulling on it. Well, the tile and wall started crumbling under his fingers until I came in and screamed asked him, ever so sweetly, to stop.

THE BAD:

We called our contractor (the geniuses behind our Kitchen Reno), and discovered that there is some kind of leak in the shower. The surrounding wall is rotting, and the only way to fix it is to rip it all out. Yep, the tiny little bathroom in the back of the house that only gets used when we're swimming, is getting a little upgrade. Not the Master Bath, but the Third Bath!?

But there is a bright side. We aren't overhauling the bathroom, but I do get to choose new tile. And there's an even better part....

THE GOOD:

Remember this pic from my Living Room plans (which I guess are now on hold), when I mentioned closing up the pass-thru from the Living Room to the Den? I always assumed it was a big (i.e. expensive) ordeal to close it, so I tried to make peace with it.

Unfortunately, no matter what I do to the room, every time I walk in it's like neon lights blinking at me from the opening.

So on a whim, I asked my contractor what it might cost to enclose it. He said he'd already be here repairing the bathroom, he'd throw it in for....wait for it..............

$100!!! That's one hundred dollars! To fix the eyesore that's bothered me from the day we moved in! Needless to say, I wrote him a check on the spot. And might have squealed and hugged him, too.

He also noticed I was trying out new paint colors in the Den, and hooked me up with his painter, who quoted me a too-good-to-be-true price (the ceilings are pitched in there, no way is this girl painting it!)

I figure I'm not detouring from the Living Room makeover, since the orange of the Den overflows in. So while gutting half a bathroom wasn't in our immediate plans, some pretty good stuff is coming out of it. I can't wait to get home and see the progress...and show you, too!